Prince of chaos

«He had no special message, if that's what you mean.»

«I see.»

She looked away, was silent for a time. Then, «Those ghosts don't last very long, do they?» she said.

«No,» I replied.

«It's infuriating,» she said at last, «to think that, despite everything, he is still able to play a hand in this.»

«He's alive, isn't he, Mother?» I said. «And you know where he is.»

«I'm not his keeper, Merlin.»

«I think you are.»

«It is impertinent to contradict me this way.»

«Yet I must,» I responded. «I saw him off on his way to the Courts. Certainly, he wanted to be here with the others for the peace settlement. Even more, though, he must have wanted to see you. There were so many unanswered questions in his mind - where you came from, why you came to him, why you parted as you did-»

«Enough!» she cried. «Let it be!»

I ignored her.

«And I know he was here in the Courts. He was seen here. He must have looked you up. What happened then? What sort of answers did you give him?»

She rose to her feet, glaring at me now.

«That will be all, Merlin,» she said. «It seems impossible to conduct a civilized conversation with you.»

«Is he your prisoner, Mother? Do you have him locked away somewhere, someplace where he can't bother you, can't interfere with your plans?»

She stepped quickly away from the table, almost stumbling.

«Wretched child!» she said. «You're just like him! Why did you have to resemble him so?»

«You're afraid of him, aren't you?» I said, suddenly realizing this could well be the case. «You're afraid to kill a Prince of Amber, even with the Logrus on your side. You've got him locked away somewhere, and you're afraid he'll come loose and blow your latest plans. You've been scared for a long time now because of what you've had to do to keep him out of action.»

«Preposterous!» she said, backing away as I rounded the table. There was a look of genuine fear on her face now. «You're just guessing!» she went on. «He's dead, Merlin! Give up! Leave me alone! Never mention his name in my presence again! Yes, I hate him! He would have destroyed us all! He still would, if he could!»

«He is not dead,» I stated.

«How can you say that?»

I bit down on the desire to tell her I'd spoken with him, held it back.

«Only the guilty protest so strongly,» I said. «He's alive. Where is he?»

She raised her hands, palms inward, and crossed them upon her breast, elbows low. The fear was gone, the anger was gone. When she spoke again, something like mockery seemed her main humor: «Then seek him, Merlin. By all means, seek him.»

«Where?» I demanded.

«Look for him in the Pit of Chaos.»

A flame appeared near her left foot and began orbiting her body in a counterclockwise direction, spiraling upward, leaving a line of fire to blaze redly behind it. By the time it reached the crown of her head she was entirely concealed. It went out with a faint whooshing sound then, taking her along with it.

I moved forward and knelt, feeling the area on which she'd stood. It was a little warm, that's all. Nice spell. Nobody'd ever taught me that one. Thinking back on it then, I realized that Mom had always had a flair when it came to entrances and exits.

«Ghost?»

He danced away from my wrist to hover in the air before me.

«Yes?»

«Are you still barred from transporting yourself through Shadow?»

«No,» he replied. «That was lifted when the Sign of the Logrus departed. I can travel - in or out of Shadow. I can provide transportation for you. Would you like me to?»

«Yes. Take me into the gallery upstairs.»

«Gallery? I plunged directly from the place of the Logrus into the dark sea, Dad. I'm not quite sure as to the lay of the land here.»

«Never mind,» I said. «I'll manage it myself.»

I activated the spikard. Energies spiraled from six of its tines, encaging Ghost and myself, swirling us upward to the place of my desire in the Maze of Art. I tried for a flash of fire as we went, but had no way of knowing whether I'd achieved it. Makes you wonder how the really good ones get their practice.

VII

I delivered us into that eerie hall that had always been old Sawall's chief delight in the maze. It was a sculpture garden, with no outside light sources and small base lighting only about the huge pieces, making it several times darker than my favorite lounge. The floor was uneven - concave, convex, stepped, ridged - with concavity being the dominant curve. It was difficult to guess at its dimensions, for it seemed of different size and contour depending upon where one stood. Gramble, Lord Sawall, had caused it to be constructed without any plane surfaces - and I believe the job involved some unique shadowmastery.